


All the Colors in the World (none of them compare to you)

by Azgex_37



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Artist!Aubrey, F/F, Fluff, Friends With Benefits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 20:16:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19775617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azgex_37/pseuds/Azgex_37
Summary: The rules of their arrangement were simple:They wouldn’t stay over at one another’s places.They wouldn’t go out on dates.And they absolutely, would not fall in love.The rules of their arrangement were simple, until one day, they weren’t.OrAubrey tries her hardest to hide her feelings for a certain brunette but realizes she needs to figure out what— who she really wants.





	All the Colors in the World (none of them compare to you)

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this on Wattpad too, so no one copied no one, don’t worry :,)

Stacie catches Aubrey's eye almost instantly. 

There are many people in the art exhibit, more than Aubrey thought would come on a Thursday night. 

But for some reason, the way the brunette is intensely staring at a piece of splatter art makes Aubrey want to approach her; so she does. 

"You like this one?" Aubrey asks, as Stacie tears her eyes away from the painting, looking at Aubrey with a slightly startled, sheepish smile, and the blonde almost chokes on her own breath, finally getting a good look at the woman. 

Coincidentally, Stacie's eyes are Aubrey's absolute favorite shade of green, a color that the blonde could find herself getting easily lost in; a perfect mix of Forrest and Olive green. 

Aubrey's mind instantly flashes back to when her best friend tried to convince her to use art pick up lines on people, and the blonde convinced her that she'd absolutely never in her life say, "Vincent Van Gogh out with me?"

"Honestly? It just looks like someone accidentally spilled paint on a canvas." Stacie confesses, eyebrows furrowing as she looks back at the painting, as if she was trying to somehow figure it out. 

This elicits a soft chuckle from the blonde, and she turns her head to the side, glancing at the splatter painting, "I'm almost offended that you think my work looks like spilled paint." 

Stacie's face goes slack, and her eyes immediately widen, heat rising to her cheeks. "I-I'm so sorry—I didn't know you made this-"

Aubrey just laughs again, shaking her head in understanding. "It's alright. I get that a lot." 

"Really, I meant no offense.." Stacie says, still not looking completely convinced, and a smile tugs at the corner of Aubrey's lips at the brunette's concern. 

"It's one of my older pieces. I almost forgot it was still here." 

"You have other paintings here?" The brunette asks, and Aubrey conceals the wide smile that's threatening to spread across her face at the genuine interest and curiosity in Stacie's voice. 

"Several actually," She responds with a coy smile that the brunette returns, "Want a tour?" 

"I'd love one." 

___________________

The next time they meet is a week later, and it's in at a small café in town. 

They exchanged numbers the week before, but have only texted every so often due to the busyness of work, and priorities. 

Aubrey's sitting in a booth by the window, sipping her jasmine tea, as she sketches aimlessly in her journal when Stacie walks in, immediately seeing the blonde and sliding into the booth beside her. 

"An artist's work never stops, huh?" 

Aubrey's barely startled by the voice, smiling softly but not looking up from her work. "Correct." 

Stacie unknowingly leans closer, almost cheek to cheek with the blonde to peek at Aubrey's sketch of a sunflower, "I thought you were a painter?" 

"An artist can use a different medium if they want, Stacie." Aubrey tells her, shaking her head in amusement before lifting her head to look at the brunette. "And are you stalking me now?" 

"First of all, you wish." Stacie retorts, earning a playful eye roll from the blonde. "And second of all, I come here every morning, so technically it's you who's stalking me." 

"I've decided to try someplace new, so..." Aubrey takes advantage of their close proximity, letting her eyes dart to the brunette's lips for a fraction of a second, "I'm definitely not stalking you." 

Stacie doesn't miss the action, as her lips form a playful smirk, and her eyes twinkle with amusement before she leans away from Aubrey. "Well I can't stay for long. I have a photo shoot in less than an hour." 

"You're a model?" Aubrey asks in surprise, and Stacie chuckles, shaking her head. 

"I'm a photographer." Stacie corrects, "But I'm flattered that you think I could be a model." 

“Well you certainly have the assets," The blonde almost blurts out before her brain is able to catch up with her mouth, and now she's blushing. "I mean-" 

"-Assets, huh?" Stacie can't help but tease, a mischievous grin on her face, "Like what, Aubrey?"

"Shut up," Aubrey grumbles, "You know what I meant." 

"You're lucky I have somewhere to be," Stacie points out, letting the comment slide; for now, "But we should totally meet up sometime." 

"I'm free Sunday," Aubrey tells her, already looking forward to seeing the brunette again. "You can come over to my studio since you're clearly so interested in my art." 

"Text me the address and I'll see you Sunday." 

"I'm looking forward to it." 

___________________

"Ugh, this is so hard," Stacie groans, setting her paintbrush down, clearly frustrated. "I've totally messed it up." 

"Like Bob Ross said, 'There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.'" Aubrey says, smiling as she finishes the final touches of her own painting. "And I'm sure it isn't that bad." 

"See, this is why photography is more my thing. It's captures what you want exactly. You can't mess it up." Stacie huffs, and Aubrey shakes her head. 

"I beg to differ, actually." Aubrey rebukes, "Photos don't do things justice. You can look a beautiful picture of a sunset, but the real thing will always be better." 

"Maybe," Stacie says simply, not bothering to debate back, and they're both quiet for a bit. 

A minute later, Aubrey turns to see how Stacie's painting is holding up, and— "Stacie what are you doing?"

The brunette seems to have given up on painting with a brush, and has resorted to using her bare hands. "I'm painting." 

"With your hands?" 

"You're an artist, Aubrey." Stacie turns to the blonde with a playful smile, "You should know what finger painting is."

"I know what finger painting is," Aubrey rolls her eyes, "But you're not a 5 year old." 

Stacie gasps dramatically, placing her clean hand over her heart, "I feel hurt by that."

"I stand by what I said," Aubrey nods, shrugging, "You're a child." 

"Oh, you'll pay for that!" Stacie exclaims, dipping both hands in paint and lunging for the blonde, and before Aubrey can react, there's yellow paint all over the side of her face.

"Stacie!" Aubrey scowls, trying to wipe the color off her face, but ending up getting it all over her hands and shirt. 

"What? I'm painting." Stacie says innocently, stifling her laugh, "You're looking a little yellow there, Sunshine." 

"Okay, that's it." Aubrey snaps, and the blonde dips her hand in blue paint, flicking her fingers in Stacie's face, but Stacie sees it coming and runs for dear life, Aubrey following close behind. "Get back here!" 

"Never!" Stacie laughs, turning her head to grin at the blonde. 

Aubrey ends up reaching for Stacie's wrist, yanking her backward and the brunette yelps in surprise, losing her balance and stumbling back. It's a good thing Aubrey's there to quickly wrap her arms around her middle, steadying her, and the two are merely inches apart as the blonde smiles smugly. "Gotcha." 

Stacie looks like she's about to say something but she doesn't, and she's never wanted to kiss anyone more than she wants to kiss Aubrey right now, so she reaches up to cup the blonde's face, her intent clear.   
But Aubrey doesn't pull away, instead meets the brunette half way, leaning forward until their lips touch. 

The kiss goes from chaste to heated very quickly, and Aubrey should be startled by how fast things between them are moving.   
But Aubrey doesn't want to stop, and actually does the opposite, tightening her grip on Stacie's waist as she pushes her into the back room of the studio.   
  
"Where are we going?" Stacie asks, breathless when they break apart for air, their lungs burning. 

"Shower," Aubrey breathes, pulling Stacie along to the bathroom, "I want all this goddamn paint off our hands before we do anything." 

Stacie grins, reaching over to turn on the hot water, "Yes, ma'am." 

_________________

"So you have a fuck buddy now?" Beca asks, and Aubrey rolls her eyes.   
  
"We're not.. fuck buddies," Aubrey cringes, "Okay, why are you even here?" 

"I go wherever she goes," Beca shrugs, nodding over to the redhead sitting beside her and popping a French fry into her mouth. 

"It's a valid question, Bree." Chloe explains, "You two clearly aren't dating, but you've been occasionally having sex for over a month now." 

"Could you be any louder?" Aubrey hisses, looking around the restaurant to make sure no weird looks were being sent their way before turning back to her friends. "We're both not ready for relationships right now, but we like.. enjoying each other's company." 

Beca snorts, "'Enjoying each other's company.' What has this chick done to you, Posen?" 

Aubrey shoots a glare in her direction, "That's none of your business, you dwarf." 

The brunette flips her off in return, and Chloe has to force her girlfriend's hand down, "Both of you. Cool it." 

The 'arrangement' was simple, they'd stay friends, occasionally hook up; they weren't exclusive, leaving the blonde sometimes wondering how numerous Stacie's sexual partners were.   
A few rules were set in place; they weren't said aloud, rather implied that they wouldn't stay over night at each other's places, no romantics dates, and absolutely no feelings. 

Stacie had given up on relationships a long time ago, and Aubrey was always caught up in daily life, leaving no room for committing to relationships. She rarely even sees Chloe, rarely leaves her art studio. 

The rules were supposed to be simple. 

And they were. 

Until one day they just.. weren't. 

__________________ 

"Is this okay?" Aubrey asks, shyly stepping out of the walk in closet, and for a second, Stacie can't breathe. 

The blonde is in a silky white low cut camisole, showing off a mouth watering amount of cleavage. She's wearing a matching set of lacy white underwear, that make Stacie want to drop her camera and pin her to the bed. 

They're not in the art studio this time, instead at Aubrey's house in her beautiful master bedroom that made Stacie demand to do a mini photo shoot first.   
Stacie doesn't know what she was thinking when she told Aubrey to dress sexy, definitely underestimating how much power the blonde held over her.

"Stacie?" Aubrey repeats, a knowing smile spreading across her face. 

"Hm? Oh- yeah it's perfect," Stacie smiles, regaining her composure as she positions her camera.   
Aubrey makes her way over to the bed, laying on her stomach before propping her upper body up on her elbow and looking right at the camera— more like past the camera and right at Stacie. 

A shiver runs down her spine and the brunette pulls her camera in front of her face, snapping a few pictures, "Amazing." 

Aubrey changes positions, laying on her back now, and Stacie moves closer to get a close up; the view once again taking Stacie's breath away, and suddenly, the brunette's not focused on the camera anymore.

"Stacie?" Aubrey asks, voice sultry and low, and it's enough to snap Stacie out of her daze. "Put away the camera and kiss me."

It's late, a little past 2 in the morning when Stacie picks up scattered clothes from the bedroom floor. Aubrey's sitting up in bed, wrapped up in the sheets, a lazy smile on her face as she simply watches Stacie wander around the room. 

"You're not gonna help me find my clothes?" Stacie asks teasingly, finally finding her shorts in the corner of the room. 

"I'd rather just watch you." 

"That's not creepy." The brunette chuckles lowly. 

"Can you blame me?" Aubrey smiles, raking her eyes up Stacie's body, and the tall woman shakes her head in fond exasperation. "Come back to bed?

"I don't know.. I should probably get home." Stacie explains, scratching the back of her neck. 

"It's late, Stacie. Come on, please?" Aubrey pleads, slowly letting go of the sheets covering her body for good measure, and Stacie's composure is weak, breaks easily at the sight of the blonde like this.   
It's not much of a surprise that Stacie ends up getting back into bed with Aubrey, and they simply sleep together, in an intimate, non sexual way. 

Aubrey doesn't pull away when Stacie unconsciously puts her arms around her; pushes the rules of their arrangement to the back of her mind and snuggles closer to the brunette, falling asleep instantly.

Before Stacie leaves in the late morning, she prints out the pictures of the blonde from the previous day, giving them to Aubrey as a gift.   
She doesn't leave without kissing Aubrey goodbye, and the blonde is terrified by the domesticity of it all. 

___________________

"What do you mean you can't come?" Aubrey asks, phone pressed to her ear, as she frantically paces around her kitchen. 

"I'm sorry..." Chloe murmurs apologetically, "But my brothers made a surprise visit, and they want us to grab dinner and catch up later tonight. I know I promised you-" 

"-It's okay, I get it." Aubrey sighs, "Go be with your family." 

"I'm really sorry, Bree.." 

"It's alright, don't worry about it." Aubrey tells her, the blonde's mood lifting slightly at Chloe's concern. "Tell your brothers I said hi, okay?" 

"I will; and I'll call you later tonight," Chloe promises, and Aubrey nods although she knows the redhead can't see her. 

"Sounds great."

Aubrey says her goodbyes, ending the call a few minutes later. Sighing, she leans against her kitchen island, scrolling through her contacts before finding the one she's looking for, her thumb hovering above the number.   
Against better judgement, the blonde presses the number, holding the phone to her ear once more until a voice speaks. 

"You need something, Sunshine?" The voice on the other line teases, and Aubrey rolls her eyes at the ridiculous nickname, "Or is this just a booty call." 

"Can it be both?" 

Stacie's laugh echoes through the blonde's ears so clearly, even from over the phone, and she hates how it makes her feel all warm inside. 

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not." Stacie admits almost nervously, and it makes Aubrey laugh. 

"No, there's this art show downtown, and Chloe canceled last minute," Aubrey explains, mentally slapping herself at how desperate she's about to sound, "And I kinda don't want to go alone, so I was wondering if you'd come with me." 

"Are you asking me out?" Stacie asks, and her serious tone causes Aubrey to freeze, heat rushing to her cheeks. 

"No! I— just-" Aubrey stammers, but she's interrupted by Stacie's highly amused laugh. 

"Aubrey, chill." Stacie soothes, "I was kidding. And of course I'll go with you." 

"You're the best," Aubrey smiles, relief flooding through her, "I'll pick you up at 6:30?" 

"I'll be waiting." Stacie tells her, and when the call ends, she can't help but smile like an idiot. 

Stacie knows this isn't a date; no matter how much she wants it to be one. But she doesn't want anything unless Aubrey wants it, one hundred percent.   
Because Stacie just wants Aubrey to be happy. And if staying the way they are right now makes the blonde happy, then Stacie's willing to stick with it. 

Stacie just might like Aubrey more than friends. More than their friends with benefits arrangement allows. 

Stacie's never been in love. 

She wonders if this is what it feels like. 

___________________

"Okay, that actually wasn't as boring as I thought it was gonna be," Stacie confesses as they're walking out of the building, and Aubrey gasps, giving her an affronted look. 

"Art exhibitions are never boring!" 

"Well I know that now." Stacie chuckles as Aubrey shoves her playfully. 

They're in the city, and Aubrey spots an Italian place; Her stomach, and brain, betrays her, and suddenly she's grabbing a hold of Stacie's hand and pulling her into the restaurant. 

"Let's get something to eat. I'm starving." 

Stacie knows this is probably a bad idea, but she convinces herself that it'll be fine. Aubrey offered and she was just being polite. Nothing more, nothing less.   
They sit down at a table for two in the back, order, and Stacie has to keep reminding herself that this isn't a date, even though it feels like one. 

"Goddamn, I should've ordered what you got," Aubrey sighs, and Stacie chuckles as the blonde gives her plate of chicken Alfredo a longing glance. 

"Here, have some." Stacie relents, gathering some of the pasta on her fork and bringing it up to Aubrey's mouth, and the woman gladly opens her mouth, eating the pasta. 

"Mmmm," Aubrey slowly licks her lips, and it makes Stacie weak. "Delicious." 

Stacie's completely distracted by Aubrey for the rest of dinner, and the blonde is totally oblivious. They argue about who should pay, Stacie first offering to split the bill, and Aubrey insisting to cover it all. 

Stacie feels rather accomplished when she ends up paying for their meals. 

They're walking in a dimly lit park near the restaurant, and conversation's been easy. It's always easy, talking with Aubrey; natural. 

"So," Stacie says, averting their debate over iPhones to another topic, "What made you want to become an artist?" 

"Actually, it was originally to stick it in my dad's face, that I wasn't going along with his big plan for my life to become a lawyer or something." Aubrey chuckles softly, but there's a hint of sadness there. 

"Your dad sounds like a pretty tough guy.." Stacie observes, and Aubrey nods. 

"He wasn't always like that," Aubrey sighs, tears threatening to pool in her eyes, "He got all ridged and cold after he and my mom got divorced. Painting was sort of my stress reliever. My mom also got really depressed, so I had to take care of her." 

"So who took care of you?" Stacie asks softly, and the question takes Aubrey by surprise. 

"Me." The blonde states strongly, almost proudly, "I took care of myself." 

Aubrey doesn't realize that a few tears have escaped until Stacie reaches up to wipe them away. The brunette's hands linger on Aubrey's cheeks, and she closes her eyes, leans into Stacie's touch. 

"You're not alone anymore, Aubrey." Stacie tells her. I'll take care of you, is what she means. "You have so many people who are here for you.. so many people who love you." 

Their close proximity almost reminds her of their first kiss, but when Aubrey opens her eyes, Stacie's not looking at her with lust, or want. Instead her eyes are shining with adoration, and love. 

And it's all too much. 

"I-I'm sorry, I can't do this," Aubrey blurts out, pulling away from Stacie's grasp and turning the other direction. 

"Aubrey!" Stacie calls after her, but the blonde just keeps walking. 

It takes all of Stacie's willpower not to follow her, deciding to give Aubrey the space she probably wants— maybe even needs. 

__________________

Stacie hasn't heard from Aubrey for weeks now, ever since what happened between them at the park. 

But suddenly there's a knock on her apartment door, and when she opens it, the blonde is standing there. 

Stacie's immediately worried, because it looks like Aubrey's been crying. "Aubrey—" 

She's cut off when the blonde drops her purse and surges forward, kissing her as she kicks the door closed behind her. 

Stacie pulls away for air, searching Aubrey's face for any sign of what's happening. "Aubrey, what's going on?" 

"I don't want to talk right now," Aubrey states, and that's all Stacie needs to know before kissing the blonde again, leading them back into the bedroom. 

Aubrey whispers a quiet 'goodbye' before leaving the bedroom, and everything just feels wrong. 

Stacie gets up a few minutes later and finds the pictures of Aubrey that she gave to the blonde as a gift.   
They're sitting on the kitchen table, and with that, Stacie's knows that everything between her and Aubrey is over. 

So Stacie crawls back to bed and just cries; heavy sobs that make it hard to breathe, and everything just hurts.   
Her chest feels tight, vision still blurry. It's almost as if someone's reached inside of her, squeezing her heart, the pain not showing any signs of subsiding. 

Stacie thinks she's finally at peace after she falls asleep, but in her dreams, all she can see is her heartbreak, her Aubrey. 

__________________

Aubrey finds herself cooped up in her art studio most days.   
Even when Chloe nearly breaks down her door to yell at her after finding out what happened. 

"You think that every relationship is going to crash and burn like your parents' did!" Chloe scolds, and Aubrey doesn't have anything to say back because deep down, she knows her best friend is right.   
But it's too late already. She's ruined one of the best things in her life— hell, Stacie was the best thing in her life. 

She was selfish. Absolutely selfish, and the only thing keeping Aubrey away was the fact that Stacie deserved better.   
Their arrangement had three simple rules, and Aubrey broke them all. And after all that, she still pushed the brunette away. 

She asked Stacie to stay overnight.

She took Stacie out on a date. 

And she fell in love with her. 

___________________

It's been almost a year since it all went down. 

Stacie's absolutely ecstatic to see so many people at her exhibit.   
She's been working her ass off on her portfolio and she's finally getting the chance to show it off.

She sent invites to the event to all her friends, pausing for a little while when Aubrey's name popped into her head. 

Stacie ends up sending the invite, fully aware that she's just going to end up disappointed when the blonde doesn't show up. 

And she doesn't show up. 

Stacie occasionally glances at the door, watching many people come in, but none of them are the one she wants to see. 

Hours later, when the last guest leaves the building, Stacie stays back, trying to focus on all the good that happened today. 

She jumps slightly when she hears the door open, and she turns to see who came back to grab something they might have forgotten. 

She turns and sees that it's Aubrey. 

The blonde looks slightly unsure, scared almost. 

"Am I too late?" Aubrey asks, and Stacie could almost cry at the double meaning behind the question. 

"No, you're right on time." Stacie answers, smiling just a little, and it gives Aubrey enough courage to step closer, looking around the room at the different photos Stacie's taken over the years. 

"These are beautiful," Aubrey compliments, but Stacie can't seem to get any words out, and the blonde becomes conscious, "..I can leave if you want." 

"No!" Stacie's finally able to say, louder than originality intended. "I want you to stay."

Don't leave me, is what she wants to say, and the blonde can sense the hurt in her voice. 

"I'm sorry, Stacie," Aubrey breathes, and her voice is suddenly shaky, "I'm so sorry.."

"Don't apologize.. it's okay." Stacie tries to reassure, but it feels like a lie. 

"No, it's not," Aubrey counters, shaking her head. "I was so selfish. And I went on pretending that it was just sex between us when I knew it wasn't. I don't want to be selfish anymore." 

"I want you." Stacie says simply, slipping her hand into Aubrey's, "But you can't keep pushing me away," 

"I know, it's just-" Aubrey murmurs, "I'm so scared that it's not gonna work, and we're gonna end up just like my parents-" 

"-Aubrey, look at me." Stacie tells her, squeezing her hand gently, and the blonde does. "Do you trust me?" 

"Yes," Aubrey answers immediately, and Stacie leans closer, close enough that she can feel Aubrey's staggered breath on her lips. 

Their lips brush together, tentatively at first before Stacie adds a bit more pressure, and suddenly they're kissing again for the first time in almost a year. They don't deepen the kiss, instead pull away with smiles on their faces. 

“I'm glad you came," Stacie says, and Aubrey seems to have gained her confidence back. 

"Of course I came," Aubrey smiles a little, and Stacie arches an eyebrow. 

"Oh? And why's that?" 

"I think I might love you a little bit." Aubrey confesses, almost teasingly and it causes Stacie's smile to widen. 

"Yeah?" She asks, and the blonde nods. "Well I think I might love you a lot." 

"Do you want to come home with me?" Aubrey asks, putting her arms around the brunette's middle, trying to conceal her wide smile at Stacie's confession. 

"Inviting me to bed already, Sunshine?" Stacie teases, almost melting into Aubrey's embrace. "You certainly work fast." 

"I happen to know that you like things fast." 

"My god, I think you're my soulmate." Stacie grins, and Aubrey rolls her eyes, unable to conceal her blush. 

"Let's go home." 

"That's anywhere with you." 

"You're so cheesy." 

"You love it." 

"I do." 

_________________

3 years later, Stacie comes home to see her girlfriend setting up the largest canvas she's ever seen. 

Aubrey asks Stacie to buy her some more paint, and when the brunette comes back, the words, 'Will You Marry Me?' are painted onto the canvas. 

Before Aubrey can say anything, Stacie runs to her and kisses her— 

Then she says yes.


End file.
